Garment closure device

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed a garment closure comprising a front component, a rear component and an intermediate connector component. The connector component fastens the front component and the rear component together so that the front component and rear component are in spaced relationship relative to each other. The rear component is configured for insertion through a fastener aperture.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120, to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/235,003, filed on Sep. 16, 2011, the entire contents of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHTS AND TRADE DRESS

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. This patent document may show and/or describe matter which is or may become trade dress of the owner. The copyright and trade dress owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and trade dress rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

This disclosure relates to garment closure devices, and apparatus for fastening together pieces of fabric or material.

2. Description of the Related Art

Buttons are used extensively on different types of garments, apparel and other materials, and temporarily and releasably fasten one first portion of the garment to another second portion thereof. The first portion of the garment has the button attached thereto, usually by thread or in the form of a stud, while the second portion of the garment has a small slit or hole, commensurate or corresponding in size to the diameter of the button so that the button can be fairly easily pushed through the hole, thereby fastening together the first and second garment portions.

A button is often used on a pair of trousers above the fly thereof, or on a skirt above a zipper, to keep the waistband of the trousers or the skirt held together. Such a button is known as a shank. The term waistband refers to the band of material at the top of a skirt or trousers which typically sits around or near the waist of the wearer. The waistband may be a specifically identifiable band of material or other fabric, or merely that portion at or near the top of the skirt or trousers which will fit around or near the waist of the wearer. The term fabric means a substantially thin, flat, flexible material made of natural or artificial materials, or combinations thereof, made by weaving, knitting, spreading, crocheting, or bonding, and also includes leather, neoprene, and similar materials.

The shank on the waistband of a pair of trousers can be unfastened to open the waistband for the purposes of putting on the trousers, and thereafter fastened to maintain the smaller diameter of the waistband comfortably around the user's waist. In conventional trousers, the left side of the waistband will typically overlie by a short distance the right side of the waistband. The shank is fixed to the right side of the waistband, while the left side of the waistband will have an appropriately sized button hole for releasably receiving the shank. Therefore, the condition of the trousers can alternate between a position in which the shank is unfastened and the waistband is opened (to facilitate putting on and taking off the trousers), and a position in which the shank is fastened to reduce the waistband diameter to a size comfortable on the wearer so that the waistband sits around or near the waist.

In the conventional arrangement described above, the right side of the waistband will be closer to the body, and the left side of the waistband will overlie the right side thereof so that the right side is interposed between the body of the wearer and the left side of the waistband.

Button flies are also known, in which one or more buttons are disposed below the shank.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side/front perspective view of a garment closure device.

FIG. 2 is a side/rear perspective exploded view of the garment closure device.

FIG. 3 is a side exploded view of the garment closure device.

FIG. 4 is another side/front perspective exploded view of the garment closure device.

FIG. 5 is a close-up top or side view of a garment closed by the garment closure device.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a fabric member and a partially hidden view of the garment closure device.

FIG. 7 is a side/front perspective exploded view of another garment closure device.

FIG. 8 is a side/rear perspective exploded view of the garment closure device of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a side/front perspective view of a garment closure device 100. The garment closure device 100 has a base 150 and a cap 180. The base 150 has a front component 120, a rear component 140 and a center component 160. The front component 120 and rear component 140 as shown are cylindrical with a small thickness (i.e., plate-like), though they may have shapes which are regular or irregular, and of consistent or inconsistent thickness. For example, the front component and/or the rear component may have a cross-sectional shape that is polygonal instead of circular. The front component 120 has an outer surface 128 and a peripheral edge 122 which may be flat with beveled edges. The rear component 140 has an inner surface 144 and a peripheral edge 142 which may have a striated or knurled surface as shown to provide an easy grip to a person, but soft or smooth enough to avoid damage to adjacent fabric or skin. The inner surface 144 and the outer surface 128 may be flat or smooth to minimize interference with adjacent fabric. The front component 120 may be sized larger or smaller than the rear component 140, e.g., by surface area or radius.

Referring now to FIG. 2 there is shown a side/rear perspective view of the garment closure device 100. The front component 120 has an inner surface 124. The rear component 140 has an outer surface 148. The inner surface 124 and the outer surface 148 may be flat or smooth to minimize interference with adjacent fabric.

Referring now to FIG. 3 there is shown a side view of the garment closure device 100. The center component 160 extends between the inner surface 124 of the front component 120 to the inner surface 144 of the rear component 140. The center component 160 may be cylindrical and have an axis 160 which is generally collinear with the axis 121 of the front component 120 and the axis 141 of the rear component 140. The center component 160 may join in an integral, rigid manner with the front component 120 and the rear component 140 to render unitary the base 150. For example, the center component 160 may comprise a threaded through hole that is configured to engage with a pair of complementary threaded shafts extending from the front component 120 and the rear component 140, and mating for a secure connection. Alternatively the center component 160 may be attached to the front component 120 and rear component 140, for example by welding, soldering, magnetism, interference fit, rivets or glue.

The base 150 may be formed from a single piece of material such as a metal, metal alloy (e.g., aluminum), plastic, or plastic-like material, and may be machined, cast, pressed, or extruded to shape. The garment closure device 100 may be comprised of multiple parts permanently or semi-permanently joined together. The joints may be glue or welds.

Referring now to FIG. 4 there is shown another side/front perspective view of the garment closure device 100. In this view the cap 180 is shown removed from the base 150.

In the base, the outer surface 128 may have an opening 125 to a channel 126 extending through the front component 120. The opening 125 may have a chamfer. The channel 126 may extend to and connect with a channel 166 in the center component 160. At least a portion of the channel 166 may have a female thread, and the thread may extend into the channel 126. The channel 166 may extend only partially into the base 150 wherein the channel 166 is closed at one end, or the channel 166 may extend through the base 150 to an opening (not shown) in the outer surface 148 of the rear component 140.

The cap 180 may be structured so as to facilitate the display of decorative or ornamental material thereon. The cap 180 may be provided having a decorative portion 182 and a shaft 184. A user may have several caps having different decorative portions, for example of different shape, size, color, configuration, or other appearance attribute. The user may choose a cap according to his or her mood or fashion preferences with a particular outfit. Thus, a cap with one type of decorative portion may be substituted or replaced with another preferred by the wearer with a given outfit. Though the decorative portion 182 has decorative function, it also has a mechanical function in closing a garment.

The decorative portion 182 may be removably coupled with the shaft 184 so that the decorative portion 182 is interchangeable. As mentioned above, the user may have several decorative portions, for example of different shape, size, color, configuration, or other appearance attribute. The user may interchange the decorative portion 182 according to his or her mood or fashion preferences with a particular outfit. Preferably, the decorative portion 182 is easily and quickly attachable with the shaft 184, such as for example with clips, reusable adhesives, magnets, hooks, threads, etc. The base 150 and first piece may be configured to secure to a garment without the decorative portion 182, so that the decorative portion 182 can be exchanged without removing the entire garment closure device 100 from the garment.

In use, the shaft 184 can be releasably inserted through the opening 125 and channel 126 and into the channel 166 of the center component 160. The decorative cap 180 may be easily removed and replaced with others according to the whim or fashion sense of the wearer. The knurls on the peripheral edge 142 of the rear component 140 may provide a user with a better grip when attaching and removing caps.

Where the channel 166 has a female thread, the shaft 184 may have a complementary male thread. Instead of a threading, the cap 180 may be releasably secured into the channel 166 using a friction fit, spring lock, magnets or other mechanism which will keep the shaft 184 securely attached in the channel 166 during ordinary usage while permitting a person to remove and replace the decorative member when desired.

The shaft 184 may be sized longer or shorter than the combined length of the two channels 126, 166. The shaft 184 length may be sized such that a portion is secured within the channels 126, 166 and a portion lies outside the channels, and this outside portion has a length to accommodate the thickness of a fabric element when the garment closure device 100 is in use.

The channel 126 may provide an alternative or additional attachment interface to the shaft 184. The channel 126 may have features akin to those described with respect to the channel 166, and the two channels may function in concert or as alternatives.

Referring now to FIG. 5 there is shown a close-up top or side view of a garment closed by the garment closure device 100. The garment includes a first fabric member 550 and a second fabric member 570 which overlap at least in part and may be sections of a single fabric member.

The garment may be, for example, a waistband on a pair of trousers or a skirt, and in that case FIG. 5 could be considered to show a top view looking down on the waistband. In that case, the first fabric member 550 may be an outward-facing part of the waistband and the second fabric member 570 may be the part obscured by the outward-facing part. In that case the second fabric member 570 is against the body of the wearer, while the first fabric member 550 extends around the wearer and the two are joined at some point.

With the garment closure device 100 fully installed as shown in FIG. 5, the first fabric member 550 is sandwiched between the decorative portion 182 and the front component 120, and the front component 120 and the rear component 140 are on opposite sides of the second fabric member 570. Dashed lines in FIG. 5 indicate an eyelet 555 through the first fabric member 550 and a keyhole 575 through the second fabric member 570. The eyelet 555, the shaft 184 (not shown) and the decorative portion 182 are configured in shape, size and thickness such that the shaft 184 can pass through the eyelet 555 but the decorative portion 182 cannot pass through the eyelet 555. Similarly, the front component 120 of the base 150 cannot pass through the eyelet 555, so that the first fabric member 550 remains between the decorative portion 182 and the front component 120 when the front component is coupled to the shaft 184 (not visible). The keyhole 575, the center component 160 (not shown) and the front portion 120 are configured such that the center component 160 can pass through the keyhole 575 but the front component 120 cannot pass through the keyhole 575 when the base 150 is coupled to the cap 180.

The length of the shaft 184 and the center component 160 may be sized to correspond to the thickness or compressed thickness of the fabric members 550, 570 respectively, and may be longer to provide a looser fit in some cases. For example, the length of the shaft 184 extending out of the base 150 may be slightly greater than the thickness of the first fabric member 550, and the length of the center component 160 may be slightly greater than the thickness of the second fabric member 570.

The decorative portion 182 and the front component 120 are in spaced relationship relative to each other and the shaft 184 passes through the eyelet 555 so that the cap 180 cannot be removed from the first fabric member 550 in normal use. The decorative portion 182 and the front component 120 may be configured such they cannot pass through the eyelet 555. For example, the decorative portion 182 and the front component 120 may have respective diameters larger than the diameter of the eyelet 555. The cap 180 when coupled to the base 150 may be effectively permanently secured to the first fabric member 550.

The front component 120 and rear component 140 are in spaced relationship relative to each other and the center component 160 passes through the keyhole 575, and the base 150 can be removed from the second fabric member 570 in normal use. The rear component 140 may be configured such that the rear component 140 can pass through the keyhole 575. For example, the rear component 140 may have a diameter smaller than the keyhole 575. When the rear component 140 is placed through the keyhole 575, the base 150 may be held to a side of the keyhole 575 so that the rear component 140 overlaps the second fabric member 570 and the rear component 140 cannot return back through the keyhole 575. The base 150 is effectively removably secured to the second fabric member 570.

The first fabric member 550 and the second fabric member 570 may be positioned such that the apertures 555, 575 overlap.

Referring now to FIG. 6 there is shown a front view of the first fabric member 550 and a partially hidden view of the garment closure device 100. The eyelet 555 may have a generally round shape. The eyelet 555 and cap 180 are configured so as to prevent the decorative portion 182 from passing through the eyelet 555 when the shaft 184 is positioned through the eyelet 555. The eyelet may have a hole with a small diameter, such as 3 millimeters. The diameter of the hole of the eyelet can range from at least approximately 2 millimeters to less than or equal to approximately 5 millimeters. The edges of the hole may be reinforced, such as with threads.

The keyhole 575 may be generally ovate and configured so as to prevent the rear component 140 from passing through the keyhole 575 when the base 150 is positioned toward one side of the ovate keyhole 575 such that the center component 160 is pressed against an edge of the keyhole 575, as illustrated in FIG. 6. The rear component 140 may be turned sideways and passed through the generally ovate keyhole 575 laterally.

With continued reference to FIG. 6, when the rear component 140 is inserted through the keyhole 575 to fasten the first fabric member 550 to the second fabric member 570, the garment closure device 100 is usually positioned to one side of the keyhole 575 because of the opposing pulling forces of the first fabric member 550 and the second fabric member 570. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 6, the garment closure device 100 sits toward the left side of the keyhole 575, as viewed from the front. It is understood that the keyhole 575 should be positioned on the second fabric member 570 such that the garment is sized appropriately knowing that when fastened, the garment closure device 100 will lie toward one side of the keyhole 575.

The garment closure device may be used to fasten garments such as jeans, jackets, shirts, footwear, etc. For example, the garment closure device may be used as cuffs to fasten the sleeves on sport jackets. The garment closure device may fasten together any of a variety of pieces of fabric or material, not necessarily in a garment.

FIG. 7 illustrates another embodiment of a garment closure device 200, having a base 250 and a decorative cap 280. The illustrated cap 280 comprises a decorative portion 282 with an ornamental design and a shaft 284 with external threads. The decorative portion 282 and the shaft 284 may be formed from one piece of material or may be joined one to another by glue or other affixation. The base 250 comprises a front component 220, a rear component 240 and a center component 260 therebetween. Similar to as described previously, the front component 220 and rear component 240 may be generally cylindrical with a small thickness, though they may have shapes which are regular or irregular, and of consistent or inconsistent thickness.

With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the illustrated front component 220 is generally cylindrical with an outer surface 228, an inner surface 224, and a peripheral edge 222. The rear component 240 is generally cylindrical with an inner surface 244, an outer surface 248 and a peripheral edge 242. The rear component 240 may have a chamfered edge 243 along the intersection between the inner surface 244 and the peripheral edge 242. The peripheral edge 242 of the rear component 240 in FIGS. 7 and 8 is generally smooth and does not have knurls, as in the embodiment described above. The center component 260 is generally cylindrical and extends between the inner surface 224 of the front component 220 and the inner surface 244 of the rear component 240.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the base 250 has an opening 225 generally at the center of the outer surface 228 of the front component 220. The opening 225 allows access to a channel 226 in the front component 220 which may extend into a channel 266 in the center component 260. The channels 226, 266 may be generally cylindrical with internal threads that are complementary to the external threads on the shaft 284. The opening 225 may have a chamfer to help guide the shaft 284 into the opening 225. The channel 266 may extend only partially into the base 250 wherein the channel 266 is closed at one end, or the channel 266 may extend through the base 250 to an opening (not shown) in the outer surface 248 of the rear component 240.

The chamfered edge 243 on the rear component 240 may aid in the threading of the rear component 240 through the keyhole 575 of the second fabric member 570. The chamfered edge 243 provides a smooth transition between the peripheral edge 242 and inner surface 244 so that the sides of the keyhole 575 may slide onto the center component 260. Furthermore, the peripheral edge 242 may be generally smooth to facilitate the sliding of the rear component 240 through the keyhole 575. Other portions of the base may be generally smooth to facilitate the sliding of the fabric member around the base.

The connection between the base and cap may be other than a threaded connection. For example, the base and cap may be connected through magnets, rivets, adhesives, interference fits, or other mechanism. A special or proprietary connection may be used to secure the base and cap together. The connection may be releasable or permanent.

In the example illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the front component 220 may have a diameter of approximately 13 millimeters and a thickness of approximately 1.2 millimeters. The edges of the front component 220 can be chamfered to have a radius of for example approximately 0.13 millimeters. The center component 160 may have a diameter of approximately 6 millimeters and a length of approximately 3 millimeters. The rear component 140 may have a diameter of approximately 14 millimeters and a thickness of approximately 1.3 millimeters. The chamfered edge 243 may have an approximately 45 degrees chamfer and be approximately 0.8 millimeters in thickness. The cap 280 may have a diameter of approximately 18 millimeters and the shaft 284 may have a diameter of approximately 2.5 millimeters.

Closing Comments

Throughout this description, the embodiments and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than limitations on the apparatus and procedures disclosed or claimed. Although many of the examples presented herein involve specific combinations of method acts or system elements, it should be understood that those acts and those elements may be combined in other ways to accomplish the same objectives. With regard to flowcharts, additional and fewer steps may be taken, and the steps as shown may be combined or further refined to achieve the methods described herein. Acts, elements and features discussed only in connection with one embodiment are not intended to be excluded from a similar role in other embodiments.

As used herein, “plurality” means two or more. As used herein, a “set” of items may include one or more of such items. As used herein, whether in the written description or the claims, the terms “comprising”, “including”, “carrying”, “having”, “containing”, “involving”, and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of”, respectively, are closed or semi-closed transitional phrases with respect to claims. Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements. 

It is claimed:
 1. A garment closure device comprising: a base comprising: a front component with a front inner surface, a front outer surface, a front peripheral edge therebetween, and an axis extending through the middle of the front inner surface and the middle of the front outer surface; a rear component with a rear inner surface, a rear outer surface, a rear peripheral edge therebetween, and the axis extending through the middle of the rear inner surface and the middle of the rear outer surface; a center component having a first end coupled to the front inner surface, a second end coupled to the rear inner surface, and the axis extending through the middle of the center component; and a cap comprising a decorative portion, wherein the base and the cap are configured to be releasably coupled to one another; wherein the front component has a front width, measured perpendicular to the axis, that is larger than a center width of the center component, measured perpendicular to the axis; and wherein the rear component has a rear width, measured perpendicular to the axis, that is larger than the center width.
 2. The garment closure device of claim 1, wherein the decorative portion is removable from the cap and interchangeable with a plurality of decorative portions.
 3. The garment closure device of claim 1, further comprising: an opening in the front outer surface and a channel extending along the axis from the opening into the front component; and the cap further comprising a shaft, the decorative portion on the cap having a width larger than a width of the shaft; wherein the channel and the shaft are configured to be releasably coupled to one another.
 4. The garment closure device of claim 1, wherein the front component is a circular disc.
 5. The garment closure device of claim 1, wherein center component is cylindrical in shape.
 6. The garment closure device of claim 1, wherein the rear component is a circular disc.
 7. The garment closure device of claim 1, wherein the rear peripheral edge is knurled.
 8. The garment closure device of claim 1, wherein the rear peripheral edge comprises a chamfered edge.
 9. The garment closure device of claim 1, in combination with a first fabric member and a second fabric member having a keyhole: wherein the cap and the base are configured to hold the first fabric member between the decorative portion and the front component; and wherein the base is configured to accept the second fabric member between the front component and the rear component, with the center component passing through the keyhole.
 10. The garment closure device of claim 3, in combination with a first fabric member having an eyelet and a second fabric member having a keyhole: wherein the cap and the base are configured to hold the first fabric member between the decorative portion and the front component, with the shaft passing through the eyelet; wherein the base is configured to accept the second fabric member between the front component and the rear component, with the center component passing through the keyhole.
 11. The garment closure device of claim 10, wherein the eyelet is sized to allow the shaft to pass through and to prevent the decorative portion from passing therethrough.
 12. The garment closure device of claim 10, wherein the keyhole is generally ovate and configured so as to prevent the rear component from passing therethrough when the center component is held against an edge of the keyhole.
 13. The garment closure device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of caps each having a differing decorative portion, wherein the base and any of the plurality of caps are configured to be releasably coupled to one another.
 14. A garment closure device comprising: a base comprising: a first portion having a generally cylindrical shape with a first diameter; a second portion adjacent the first portion, the second portion having a generally cylindrical shape with a second diameter that is smaller than the first diameter; a third portion adjacent the second portion, the third portion having a generally cylindrical shape with a third diameter that is larger than the second diameter; a cap comprising a decorative portion, wherein the base and the cap are configured to be releasably coupled to one another.
 15. The garment closure device of claim 14, wherein the decorative portion is removable from the cap and interchangeable with a plurality of decorative portions.
 16. The garment closure device of claim 14, further comprising: an opening in the first portion and a channel extending along an axis of the first portion from the opening to a depth; and the cap further comprising a shaft, the decorative portion on the cap having a width larger than a diameter of the shaft; wherein the channel and the shaft are configured to be releasably coupled to one another.
 17. The garment closure device of claim 14, wherein an edge of the third portion comprises a chamfered edge.
 18. The garment closure device of claim 16, in combination with a first fabric member having an eyelet and a second fabric member having a keyhole: wherein the cap and the base are configured to hold the first fabric member between the decorative portion and the front component, with the shaft passing through the eyelet; wherein the base is configured to accept the second fabric member between the front component and the rear component, with the center component passing through the keyhole.
 19. The garment closure device of claim 18, wherein the eyelet is sized to allow the shaft to pass through and to prevent the decorative portion from passing therethrough.
 20. The garment closure device of claim 18, wherein the keyhole is generally ovate and configured so as to prevent the rear component from passing therethrough when the center component is held against an edge of the keyhole. 